Walking On Hot Coals
by kammad42
Summary: A Bethyl Story. Beth and Daryl have been separated. Beth has been kidnapped, and Daryl is now with Joe's brutal group. Both are struggling to survive. But what happens when Beth escapes her kidnapper? Will Beth and Daryl ever find each other? And when they do, will they ever be safe together? They're surviving in a world where you fight the dead, and fear the living.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

**Beth**

** "****Ah!" I scream. The knife slashes against my side as I drop down to the ground. I spit out dirt back onto the earth as I hear the man behind me chuckle. "Ha! Had enough, blondie?" ****_Of course I've had enough. I've had enough ever since you dragged me into the car. _****I don't voice my thoughts. I want to at least try to stay alive. Blood seeps into my yellow polo. I sit up on my knees, still refusing to acknowledge the harsh man. I wipe the back of my hand across my forehead, removing the sweat due to the sun.**

**Then I'm being lifted onto my feet. The man grips my hair and jerks me forward towards the shed. I slam into the door, bumping my head on the wood. I still haven't been able to use the knife I had in my boot. They hadn't taken that from me. They forgot to search for any weapons. That's what they get for thinking I'm a useless little girl. The man grips my arm as he opens the door, then throws me inside. The blow knocks the breath out of me as the door slams behind me. **

**There's just one lightbulb hanging from the ceiling of the small space. It's the only illumination in the small barn. The air smells of cigarette smoke. The shed looks old and rusted. It's completely empty except for me and my kidnapper inside. He's been driving me for a day, he's told me. I woke up as he was pulling up here, so there was no time to fight back. And I was still weak from whatever liquid he put in my neck with the syringe. **

**I hear the clatter of metal in the corner and I immediately tense up at the sound. I crane my head to look. The machete lies in the corner with blood stains on it. My blood. I shudder. I struggle to stand up with the rope tied around my hands. I turn around just as the skinny male starts towards me. He has a sick smile on his face. Almost like the governor's right before he chopped off daddy's head.**

**I swallow back tears as he grabs my neck as slams me against the wall. I hiss as my head bangs into the chipped wood. "So, what's your name, blondie?" The man asks. Instead of a reply, I spit at his face. Immature, I know, but it's the only thing I have right now. My eyes flicker across the room to the large knife. I need to get to it. But will I be able to kill this man? He delivers a punch to my jaw, then another into my gut, sending me crouching on the ground.**

**I gasp for air and he leans down next to me and grabs my neck, squeezing my airways so I can't breathe. I claw at his hands and he drags me to my feet. "I have a theory, that you ****_want _****to die." He spats in my face. The he shrugs. My hands are still struggling to remove his hands from my throat. "I guess it doesn't really matter since you're going to die, anyway." **

**What did I expect? Us to make a sparkling friendship and for him to just let me go? I think somewhere deep inside me I knew I wasn't going to live, but now that he confirmed it my eyes go wide and I freeze. He laughs, amused. "What, you think I was going to let you go?" His expression gets fierce again and his hand loosens a bit. I gulp thin air into my lungs, then he squeezes again. "You make me laugh, blondie." I'm being thrown to the ground again as he reaches into his pocket.**

**I cough up blood onto the now red floor. Then I feel myself being pushed and pinned down on the ground. I feel him left to shirt up off of my back, and then I feel a scorching pain. I scream in agony, then realize what he's doing. He's branding me. Burning me. It goes on for an eternity until he finally lets me go. My vision is fading in and out as he lifts his arms off of me. I stay lying on the ground. The cold air stings the scars on me, but I do nothing about it. If I wake up from consciousness, my voice will be hoarse and strained. **

**Right before I drift asleep, a face pops up in front of me. "See you soon, blondie." Then his fist connects with my cheek and I'm out of it.**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Daryl

"_Beth!" I yell at her. She's being held against the wall by that son of a- "Daryl! Help me!" She screams at me. I grunt and growl as I try to get free. Arms hold me back as drag me backwards. "Daryl!" She screams. I dig my heels into the dirt as the sky starts going black. Another man comes out of the forest behind the small blonde. Then he holds the barrel of his gun against her head, and shoots. I go limp as I stare at the sight in front of me. The girl is lying on the ground. Not moving. I half-expect her hand to come up and brush her bangs out of her face. But she just lies there. Dead. Her dull eyes stare into mine as I fall to the ground on my knees. _

_I look back up at the person that… killed Beth. He's holding a gun up in between my eyebrows now. Before I can do anything against him, he pulls the trigger. _

I inhale a sharp breath as I my head flies up off of the trash bag I had used. I'm still at the camp with Joe's group. They found me stupidly chasing the car that took Beth. I was really dumb to think that I could outrun a car. I feel around to the side for my crossbow and unclench my free fist when I grip the camouflage on it.

I hesitantly stand. Everyone else around me is sleeping the morning away. Well, more meat for me. I grip my crossbow in my hand and quietly step out of the sucky security system without making any noise. The sun hasn't risen yet, so it's still gloomy. Especially in the woods.

As I search for something to eat, my mind drifts back to Joe's group. Should I trust these guys? I think I've made it pretty clear that when the time comes, I'm leaving them. I'm not staying with them forever. I don't think I should.

Something out of the corner of my eye catches my attention. A rabbit moves and sniffs part of the ground with it's tiny nose. I point my crossbow at it and get ready to press the trigger, when suddenly, another arrow is sticking out of it's thigh right after mine hit it. I spin around and face Len.

"This rabbit's mine." I tell him. I turn back around and grab the rabbit, pulling out my bolt and throwing his other arrow to the side. His eyes follow it for a second then he focuses back on me. "That rabbit is _claimed_." He says back, pointing at _my _rabbit. "Claimed?" I scoff. "My bolt hit it first." I start to walk away from him, but he blocks my way. "You what I think?" He drawls out. I ignore him and try to get around him again. He blocks my way again. "I think… this bi**h... got you all messed up." He continues. Man, he really wants to get hurt.

I go around him again and he lets me get through. "Must've been a good 'n. Musta' lost yourself a piece 'a tail " I stop in my tracks. He ain't gonna talk about Beth like _that. _My hand hovers over my knife that's currently in the holster at my side. "Was it one of the small n's? 'Cause they… they don't last long." That's it. Screw humanity. This guy really wants to die. I draw my knife and lift it up, preparing to strike, when someone grabs my arm from the side. Joe. "What's the problem, fellas?" Len starts forward, pointing to _my _game.

"Daryl here, took my rabbit. And I claimed it." What is it with this claimin' crap? It's bull. "My arrow touched it first." I argue. Joe loosens his grip on my upper arm and looks back and forth between Len and I, then he stops at Len. "Did you explain to Daryl about what the rules were?" Len starts to stammer, and I scoff. Joe looks at me and holds out his hands. " See, Daryl, the rules of the hunt, is that if you see somethin' you want, all you have to say is 'claimed,' and it's yours." I grunt. "Ain't no rules no more." "When men like us follow rules like these, the world is ours." I don't say anything back. I just turn and walk away, swallowing all my protests down my throat.

Joe stops me by grabbing the other half of the rabbit. "Hey!" I argue. "Hang on, Daryl. See, you didn't know the rules." Then he sends a sharp look in Len's direction and pulls out his machete. The next thing I know, _my _rabbit is being chopped in half and it's butt is hanging from my hands. Joe tosses the other half to Len and he barely catches it. Ha. How has he survived this long?

Joe looks at me again and gives me a sort of innocent look. I almost snort. This man is nowhere near innocent. "Just speak the word. Claimed." Then he shrugs, as if it's no big deal.I grunt again and walk away, finally, back to the camp.

**A/N: Hi! Yeah, I know, 2 CHAPTERS IN A DAY! I was so surprised that I got that many favorites/follows/views (I know it's not that many, BUT STILL!) in 4 hours that I decided to put this chapter up! I was really pleased with the feedback that I got on the last chapter! Thx so much to anyone that decided to follow along with it and read it! You have no clue how much that really means to me! Thx so much! Please keep reading the future chapters! Let's try to get 3 more follows or favorites or (if I'm lucky) reviews before the next chapter tomorrow! If we can't I'll still post a new chapter tomorrow! Thx! :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Oh, my God, guys! Thank you SSSOOO much for 11 followers and 7 favorites! And thx to whoever wrote in the reviews to do both Beth AND Daryl chapters and POVs! And I'm getting like 2 views a minute! That may not be such a big deal to you, but it's REALLY awesome for someone like me! I just put up this story yesterday, too! Speaking of stories, please check out my other story that I'm doing with my best friend called Broken; a TWD Story. It's got some new characters that weren't in the TV Show and comics, but they're still amazing! Anyway, thx so much for reading this and following and favoriting it! I'm going to try to do daily updates, but if I can't I can have a new chapter up AT LEAST every 2 days! You probably wanna get to the story now, so, BYE! :) **

Chapter 3

Beth

My one good eye flies open as I wake from my slumber. "We can't just leave her here." I hear in the corner. It's a woman's voice. The dreadful man isn't the only one responsible for this. I close my eye again and take deep breaths, trying to trick them that I'm asleep so I can listen to their conversation again.

"What do we do with her, then?" The man sounds angry. If _he's _angry, you can't even imagine how irritated I am. "Kill her, maybe?" My breath catches in my throat. Again, the shock of dying comes to me. Then the man says, "We can't kill her! You know that we need her!" He whisper-yells. They need me? For what? Why am I so important to them? I still feel relief that they're not going to kill me. But that doesn't stop them from doing something else.

"Yes, but as soon as we get the info out of her, we're done with her." Info? What are they talking about? I'm just trying to live in the freaking apocalypse! "How would we kill her?" The woman asks. I tense and hope they don't notice. They don't. "We could infect her." The man answers. I shudder. That's the worst way to kill someone. Especially in this world. Then it's silent, and I feel a breath on my ear. "What, 'ya scared of 'em?" They know I'm awake. I'll have to learn more about this later. I know they're not going to start talking about it again.

I don't respond to the man, but I squeeze my eyes closed tighter until I feel myself being pulled up by my arm. I involuntarily whimper. I have bruises up and down my body, so it aches every time I move. This only makes the man squeeze it tighter. I really want to use that knife right about now. After the man pulls me up, he grabs a chair from in the corner that wasn't there before. He turns it around the face me and plops down in it. Then he smiles at me.

I start to breathe heavily. What is he planning? I slowly back up until my back slams on the wood and I bite back the urge to cry in pain. The burns on my back are still healing. It's only been a few hours. I'm assuming it's dark outside. "What do you want?" I speak. I was right. My voice is scratchier and rougher than before. Probably permanent.

He shrugs. "Right now, I want to talk." I clear my throat. "I'm not telling you crap about nothin.'" Wrong answer. He flies up out of the chair. My eyes go wide and alert. He grabs my arm and starts twisting it back. I lift my leg up and kick his shin. He loosens his hold enough for me to get free and knee him in the gut. He crouches down on the ground and holds his stomach. I quickly reach into my left boot for my knife and yank my shoe off. The knife clatters onto the ground next to it. I start to lean down to grab it, but I'm pushed and thrown to the side of the room.

I grunt at the impact of the blow against the wall, then groan and slide to the ground, unable to do much. The guy gets up and wipes his mouth on the back of his hand, then flings it towards the ground. I have time to consider his features and see what he looks like. He's bald and he's got a round face that is contorted into a furious look. He stomps towards me and grabs the collar of my shirt. "You are the prisoner! You are making this hard for yourself! We just need you to cooperate, and maybe you'll live!" I laugh. It's filled with no humor and is short and harsh. It sounds nothing like a laugh.

He roughly let's go of me and I fall into the corner. He grabs his knife that was beside him and starts toward me. I bring my knees up to my chest and cringe away, but he grabs my hands. Then he cuts the rope. Confusion fills my mind. Is he… letting me go? No. Where would I go, anyway? I have no clue where the rest of my family is. And Daryl… I don't think he would want me back. I held him back. I got us separated.

I turn my attention back to the figure in front of me. Baldie slowly backs away until he's right in front of the door. The door to my freedom. He turns around and slowly opens it. It creaks as he swings it open, then steps outside. Right before he slams it, he sticks his head in and says, "Let's see how tough you really are, blondie." Then he shuts the door and leaves me stranded in this tight space. Not that I would want his company, anyway.

I basically fly off of the ground and to the door. I try the doorknob, but it's locked. Not surprising. I didn't expect him to let me go. I sigh and gently lean against the door. The doorknob suddenly rattles behind me, and I hear a click. As I'm limping back into the corner, I notice he didn't see the knife lying on the ground next to my boot. I snatch it and my boot then sit back down against the wall. Then I wait. And wait. The door doesn't open for a while. I don't dare move. Then, it swings open. It's pitch black outside, so no sunlight hurts my eyes. I've only seen any light from outside through the cracks in the wood.

I hear a groan. I squint my eyes to focus on what's outside. Shuffling feet. It's a walker. It steps inside and when it sees me, it starts stumbling towards me. I sit in horror as the door behind the monster slams, and the light turns off in the center of the room, leaving me to fight against the walker all by myself.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Daryl

When we walk back to camp, I'm still restraining myself from turning around and slitting Len's neck, right there on the spot. I don't give a crap about these rules. I really wanna kill this guy. The sky seems to get a bit lighter in the sky as we're walking. I didn't go very far, so the walk isn't very long. When we get back, everyone else is awake and packing up their stuff. After searching through ti, I snatch my trash bag off of the ground and stuff the butt of the rabbit inside of it.

When everyone's all packed, Joe speaks up. "We're gonna head off to one of our safe houses. After that, it's just traveling for us. We're gonna find that horrible man that killed Lou. And he's gonna pay." Somebody killed one of their friends? Wouldn't be the first time somebody died in this world. Especially from being murdered.

After we leave our camp, we walk out of the woods until we get to train tracks. Then, we follow the path. Every time I hear some sort of noise around me, my crossbow flies up from my side. It's usually just one of the guys stepping on a stick or some crunchy leaves, but I can't stop myself from being alert anyway.

After we've walked for about a mile, a walker comes out of the side of the trees. I walk up to it carefully, then grab the front of it's shirt and quickly slip my knife through what used to be an eye socket. The decayed body drops to the ground and I hold my breath to stop the smell from drifting into my nose. When I turn around and start to walk away, I hear another growl and Dan, another man from the group, whips out his rifle.

At first I think he's pointing it at me, then I realize that it's something from behind me. I spin around to face another walker stumbling out of the trees, so I wave the guys off behind me, signaling to them that I can handle it. Then two more come out and I start to back away. One of them is easy to kill. A herd of them... Is extremely difficult.

This time, I lift my crossbow as I back up to join the space of the other guys. As soon as the walkers notice us, they pick up speed as I take aim at the first one. Right before I pull the trigger, a gunshot rings out from the silence around me. I freeze up and tense. Anybody-or thing- would've heard that from maybe a mile or two away. In other words, we're screwed.

The walker that got shot stops in its tracks, then lazily flops down on it's back on the ground. I aim at the one behind it, and the bolt goes right through it's forehead. I don't out my crossbow back to my side yet. Because I hear more feet shuffling and more walkers start coming out of the forest. It's almost as big as the herd of zombies that Beth and I got bombarded with at the golf club.

The other guys get out their knives or any other weapon that they have, and we start taking on the walkers. They go down one by one and I soon lose all of my bolts. I'll get them back later. I take my knife out and focus on the one moving towards me. Then I slam my knife into the side of it's head. Another one was right behind it. I take that one out, too, and grunt when my knife gets stuck it's it's damaged skull. I stomp my foot on the other side of it's head and pull my knife out with a lot of effort.

I stumble back a bit when another one growls right beside me. After a second of regaining my composure, I kick it to the ground and pin it to where I can damage it's brain. That one was the last one. I lift my head up to see all of the guys still stiff and alert, and quickly jump up to join them looking out for more.

After a minute, when no more walkers come, I bend down to retrieve all of my bolts. Len says something behind me. "I guess you're one of us now, Daryl." "Ain't no… us." I say back. Then we're on the move again.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Beth

My knife feels heavy in my hand as I clutch it to my chest. The blade presses against my palm and I flip it over so I'm ready to kill the walker. I hear it's loud and heavy thuds of footsteps as it comes towards me. I feel it grab my wrist and I swing the knife around in front of me. I feel it go into something. A cheek, maybe. It keeps growling. I rip the knife out of it's jaw and raise the knife a little higher. It slams into it's skull and I grunt and it's grip on my hand loosens.

I fall to the ground in the darkness. I need to get out of here. I crawl over to the door and sit against beside it and wait, holding the pocket knife in my hand. I slowly slide up the wall until I'm completely standing on my feet. Then I wait some more until the door opens.

Baldie doesn't even look inside before he turns the light on from outside and steps in. I growl and don't hesitate to jump swiftly on his back. I wrap my arms around his neck and crane my neck to the side and he backs up and slams me into the wall. I don't loosen my hold on him, but I do wince. My scars aren't even close to healed yet. His face turns purple and he stops struggling. I jump off of him before he falls to the ground. Then, I turn around a run as fast as I ever had to get as far away from this place before he wakes up or the woman comes back.

I run until my legs scream of exhaustion and my breaths are wheezes. I step out of the woods and into what looks like a small town. I notice a mall to the left, so I start towards that direction. The door is barricaded from the outside and a sign is in the window. _Take what you need and God bless. _I almost burst into tears. That's something Daddy would have said.

After moving all of the objects away from the door, I grip the knife in my hand and hesitantly step inside. "Hey!" I yell. The sound echoes throughout the place. If there are any walkers-or people- I want to get it over with. When nothing and no one comes out, I step out of the hallway and step directly into the mall.

Stores are lined up next to and across each other. The first store I notice is a sports store. As I start towards it with my knife still in my hand, i think back to when Daryl taught me to track and use a crossbow, He hadn't let anyone else touch his crossbow but me, and that didn't go by unnoticed. I wonder if I'll ever find him. _I know I will. _

After I go inside the sports store, the first thing I look for is a crossbow. I finally find one all the way in the back. It's luckily camouflaged. I pick it up and try it out, grabbing one of the bolts on the rack next to it and loading it in.

I take aim and look through the scope. I focus on a part of a picture that's hanging crookedly on the wall. I breathe in and out, just like Daryl taught me. He taught me to stay calm and focused while shooting one of these.

It lands a few inches away from where I wanted it to land. I smile. Better than last time. I practice a few more times, then I load a lot of bolts into the crossbow. I put it down at my side like Daryl did then walk out of the store to look around the mall some more.

After walking around for quite some time, I see a mattress store and almost jump for joy. I walk right into the store and, after checking it for walkers, plop down on the first bed I see, so exhausted that as soon as I close my eyes, I fall asleep.

**A/N: Hey again! Just wanted to say, AGAIN, thx so much for all the reviews, favorites, followers, and views this story has gotten! It's really amazing to me! Also, I have a new story up called Stuck, and it's another Bethyl one, so please check that out, too! Thx! See ya tomorrow with the new update! :)**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Daryl

"We're gonna stop here tonight…" Joe announced as we approached the old warehouse. A lone walker limped towards us. Three men rushed at him, all taking their own sweet time to kill it. I could have easily walked up and stabbed him in the head. Joe broke open the door and everyone flooded in. I spotted an old minivan in the corner which would be… suitable. I walked towards it, when Dan slammed his trash bag on the hood, "Claimed!" He screeched.

Without a word, I moved to the next car, "Claimed!" Another member of the group had beat me to it and opened the door. After wandering around for a while, I gave up and placed my trash bag on the ground to use as a pillow.

It crinkled underneath me, as I layed down on the cold concrete floor. I looked up to see Joe stare at me through the window of his car with an annoyed look on his face. I groaned and looked up at the ceiling. All I could think about was Beth. My eyelids weighed like anvils and I finally drifted off.

_We were running through the woods, Tree limbs scraping across my arms. I held her forearm tightly in my hand as she stumbled to keep up with me. Growling echoed all around us, As we came to a stop, I looked back at Beth, staring deep into her big blue eyes. While we embraced, a dark shadow emerged from behind the nearest tree. I watched in horror as it approached her. The evil silhouette grabbed Beth's forearm and began pulling her away. I latched on and fought to save her. She screamed in pain as he tugged even harder. The palms of my hands began to sweat, and my grip loosened. _

_Before I knew it, she was gone… I stood in awe as she disintegrated into thin air. I was alone. Suddenly, it began to rain. I dropped to my knees before one single tear ran down my face. In order to keep some of my dignity, I quickly wiped it away. Her voice echoed through the trees, _

"_Soon, I won't need you at all." My ears began ringing, the sentence repeated over and over, growing louder each time. I held my ears and squeezed my eyelids shut. A sheer brutal scream of pain attacked my mental state of mind. The world began spinning around me. I grew dizzy and toppled over on my side. _

I jumped up, as reality flooded in. I swipped the sweat off my forehead and stood up to go outside for… stuff. After I returned, Len headed straight for me, "You… you took it didn't you!" He growled. "I didn't take nothin'!" I shouted back.

The rest of the group swarmed around us and Joe appeared by my side. "Well, don't we have a predicament… Len, what exactly are you accusing him of?" Joe paced between us. "He stole my half of the rabbit!" He procrastinated. I shook my head in disbelief. I wanted to snap his neck so much! Joe grabbed my trash bag off the ground and dumped my stuff on the ground.

All of my things flooded out onto the floor, and sure enough, a decapitated rabbit head flopped after it's butt. "You put that there!" I yelled. I sped after Len when Joe blocked me from getting my chance, "Hold up… Now, Len, he could have really came up to your car and stole a small little animal head just to prove a point, or… you walked up and threw it in his bag just so the boys could teach him a lesson.". Len shook his head in agreement, "Why would I do that?! It's just food!" He exclaimed. Joe nodded, "Boys… teach him all the way."

Len stood in horror before the whole group of men tackled him and continuously beat him. "I saw him do it." He explained. "It was just his time, ya know?" I nodded. Groans of pain echoed passed the men. Dan walked away, then returned with a baseball bat. He chuckled under his breath and held the wooden bat in the air. His eyes widened as blood splattered across his face. I shook my head once more, "I'm gonna go take a walk." I jogged out the door for some fresh air.

Once I returned, everything was quiet. There was no sign of life except for Joe, who was leaning against his car. I looked around for Len, but there was no sign of him, besides a huge puddle of blood. I packed my things, preparing to continue down the road. Once everyone was ready, we headed out. Len still hadn't shown up. I slammed the door behind us when I noticed a blanket around the corner. Curious, I kicked it over with my boot. I stumbled backward in disgust. A blood covered Len stared up at the sky. _He's dead? They killed him? _ I covered my mouth to keep from hurling, because of the stench, I turned and walked away, still trying to register what had happened.

**A/N: Hey guys! I'm so sorry I didn't post this yesterday! I got freakin' grounded! I got my computer back today, though! Yay! Daily updates again! Anyway, plz review, follow, favorite, PM me, whatever, because I love to hear your feedback and I'm glad you like this story (if you do)! Also, check out my other story called Stuck, it's also a Bethyl story. It's basically what would happen if Beth never got kidnapped. Thx for reading! :)**


	7. Chapter 7

**Warning on this chapter: FEELS!**

Chapter 7

Beth

As I step out of the mall, crossbow in hand, I'm determined to find some food today. My kidnappers only gave me a glass of water and a piece of bread twice a day. I'm going to starve if I don't search for food and find some. That's really the last thing I want to do.

As I walk back into the woods I came from, I'm careful to move very quietly. I keep my crossbow loaded and slowly walk around, looking for any signs of life. I almost laugh when I remember how I wouldn't hurt a fly. That was before all of this happened.

I stop walking when I see a small rabbit out of the corner of my eye. I smile, then take aim with my crossbow. When I pull the trigger, the bolt goes right through the rabbit's side. I smile in satisfactory.

I rip the bolt out and reload it, then snatch the rabbit off of the ground. Then, I start to head back to my mall to cook it inside. I've made a fire in there in one of the stores that I use when it gets colder. The winter will probably be coming soon.

As I'm walking back to my mall, I hear grunts and snarls coming from right out of the woods. My first instinct is to run in that direction. As soon as I'm out of the woods, see a man with a crossbow like mine and a knife in his hand, swinging at walkers all around him.

I drop my stuff to help him, lifting my crossbow at one behind him that's coming towards him. The bolt flies through his decayed eye socket and I fight back the urge to smile. We're not done yet. I whip out my pocket knife and jump onto the back of one closest to me. I aggravatingly growl as I shove the knife through the walker's temple, then jump off of him, ripping out my knife, before he falls and takes me down with him.

I grip the handle of the knife and grab the next walker's collar to hold him in place as I rammed the knife up it's jaw and through head, grunting as I pulled it out. I watch the walker drop to the ground as another one grabs my shoulder. I quickly spin around and kick it's gut. It stumbles back and falls onto the ground and I kneel down next to it, thrusting the knife once more through his hair and into his skull.

After that last walker, it's quiet. I take time to catch my breath before I look walk over to grab my crossbow off of the ground, wiping the blade of my knife on my pants. Blood smears on the tan jeans. After my crossbow is off of the ground, I walk over to the walker with my bolt in it's head, and grunt as I pull it out, once again reloading my crossbow. I clear my throat. "Don't mention it." I say. I don't want their thanks for helping them.

"Beth?" I freeze. I would know that voice anywhere. I jerk my head up after the shock and come face to face with Daryl Dixon. "Holy crap," I say under my breath. "Daryl?" I ask. My face must have disbelief written all over it. Surprising me, Daryl basically runs up to me and throws my crossbow aside, wrapping his arms around me in a hug. I hug him back without hesitation. He pulls back after a while and puts his hands on my face. My cheeks feel hot and tingle.

He studies my face with his eyes, checking for injuries. I'm sure I have a few bruises on my face. His face contorts into an angry expression. "Who did this?" His voice sounds strained." I shake my head. "I really don't want to talk about that right now." I still remember the expression of Baldie when his face turned blue and his eyes looked dead. Because they were. "I was just heading back to my… place. Ya' wanna come?" I ask him. He moves his hands. "Yeah. I don't have anywhere to go."

I feel the urge to grab his hand while we walk the short distance, but I restrain myself. Our knuckles brush against each other occasionally. When we get to my mall, I look at the surroundings around us to make sure no one was following us. After I saw that everything was clear, I opened the doors to the mall. When we stepped inside, Daryl helped me block the doors again. "Thanks," I say after we're done.

We step out of the hallway and into the center of the mall as I walk to my store with all of my stuff. After checking my inventory, I looks back at Daryl and open my arms wide. "This is my place. I've only been here about a day. I was… somewhere else for about a week." I wince as I rest my back against the wall behind me. He gives me a concerned look. "What's wrong with 'yer back?" I shrug as if it was no big deal. "Nothing. Just tired," I lie. "Lemme see it, then." he says, once again surprising me.

My eyes widen. I slowly turn around and lift up my shirt off of my back so you can't see the scars. Before he can look too closely, I drop the shirt and turn back around. He gives me a scowl. "Beth, you barely lifted it."

I know his intentions were of concern, but my cheeks still heated up. I turned around again and lifted my shirt up to my shoulder blades. "What the he-" "I'm fine, Daryl." I interrupt him. I put my shirt down and turn back around to face Daryl. He touches my arm. "They branded you, Beth. They _burned _you. That's not okay." I held his gaze until I was certain I was going to break. I hadn't shed a tear since the incident. I allowed one tear to fall onto my cheek

Suddenly, I heard footsteps. I reached for my crossbow. Then, I heard a gunshot and I felt one of the worst pains in my shoulder as I heard a chuckle and fell to the ground.

**A/N: Yay! Bethyl is together again! Woo hoo! Please favorite, follow, review this story because I love to hear your feedback! Thx so much for reading, and tomorrow, there will be a brand new Daryl chapter up! Thx! :) **


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

**Daryl**

In an instant, Beth collapsed to the ground in pain. I stood in horror as everything processed. I grabbed my crossbow. and prepared an arrow. Suddenly, a familiar raspy voice spoke from behind me, "Hello, Daryl.". I rolled my eyes and, using my peripheral vision, spotted Joe with a pistol pointing at my head. Without a word I threw my crossbow across the tile.

"Ya know, we just couldn't let you leave without knowing that you wouldn't come back to take our supplies… I'm sorry we have to do this to you." I continued to stand quietly. I looked around to see if I could use anything to help me. Unsuccessful, I glanced down at Beth. Dan approached her, with his bat dragging across the ground. I began to struggle as he lifted it up. Joe grabbed my shoulder and I could now feel his breath against my neck, "First, we'll kill the girl, then you… it'll be fast, I promise."

I looked down at my feet and saw that Joe's was right beside mine. Risking Beth's life, I lifted my foot and used all the strength that I had left in me to break at least, two of his toes. He shrieked in pain and toppled over onto the ground. I grabbed my crossbow and shot an arrow into Dan's leg. He screamed and quickly pulled it out. The others surrounded me, maniacally laughing. Joe stood up, a scowl on his face. I looked over at Beth to see her lying on the ground with Dan over her. I practically growled as I took aim at her forehead.

My crossbow was suddenly thrown across the room by Joe. I tried to go around him to get to Beth, but he punched my jaw, definitely leaving a mark. "Teach 'em both men. Teach 'em all the way." Joe kicked my shin first, sending me to the ground. I struggled to stand, but someone else delivered a blow to my gut, making me clutch it and groan. Somewhere between the sounds of pain and the grunting of the men beating me, I could hear Dan's hideous laughing and Beth's horrifying screams.

"Beth!" I yelled. If he hurts her, I'll kill him. "Daryl!" She sobs. She's still alive. Another blow to my eye. I notice the screams start to stop. Is she dead? No. She can't be. "Beth!" I hoarsely yell. A kick to my throat. I see dark spots in my vision now. Suddenly, it stops. I hear a zoom of an arrow, then it flying into flesh. I slightly lifted my head up at see Beth holding my crossbow in front of her, aiming it at Joe and the other men. Then I look beside her. Dan lies on the ground, dead, a knife through his eye.

She shoots another man next to me and he falls to the ground. I grab his pistol out of his waistband and shoot it at Joe, putting lead right in between his eyebrows. Beth drops my crossbow and falls to the ground, sobbing. I want to reach out to her, but I take out the other men with the pistol. I'm surprised I still have good aim with my vision practically gone. When they're all dead, I hear Beth crawl over to me before I pass out and see complete black.

When I wake, I'm greeted with a stinging pain just above my eyebrow. My eyes slowly open as I hiss under my breath from the sharp pain. I'm faced with Beth, about half a foot away from my face with a damp washcloth in her hand, dabbing at my forehead. She smiles when she sees me. "Good. You're awake." "Yeah. How long have I been out." She shrugs. "About half a day. The sun just rose."

I try to sit up, but my rib cage aches, so Beth has to help me. "Why don't we stay here for the day. You need to rest." I look around at my surroundings. The other guys are all gone. Well, their bodies are. She must've had to drag them out. Right before I fell asleep, I remember her breaking down and crying. The red rims around her eyes are my proof. I'm almost afraid to ask, but I do anyway.

"Why'd you break down earlier?" I try to make my voice as soft as possible, but it still doesn't work. She sighs before replying. "I haven't taken the time to cry since… you know." I do know, Since they night she was taken. I wait a while to say something. "I'm sorry." I finally say. I am sorry. I'm sorry for not getting to her soon enough. I'm sorry I stopped looking. I'm sorry I lost hope… "You have nothin' to be sorry 'bout." I scoff. "I got ya' kidnapped." She flinches. "And I got out, You saved me. I probably would've been walker food if you didn't distract them." Now I flinch. The thought of her being walker food disturbs me more than it should.

Before I can argue with her, she says, "Rest. You need it if we're going to keep moving tomorrow." I take a while to consider it, then finally lean back and fall into another deep sleep on the cold concrete floor.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Beth

When I woke up the next day, Daryl was already up and pacing around the area. "What are you doing" I asked him, propping myself up on my elbows. He turns his head to face me. "I'm thinkin.'" He replies. I stand up and brush the dust off of my jeans. "About..?" "When we should leave." He says. I cross my arms.

"We don't need to leave. This place is as safe as any." "This place don't got barely any food and water inside. When was the last time ya' ate somethin'?'" I never cooked the rabbit that I shot in the woods. It was lying the the corner.

I point to it. "We got food right there." He snorts. "That would only last a day." I shrug. "We can hunt more." "We can't hunt every day, Beth." I sigh. "Okay. We'll leave after we eat the rabbit. Then, we'll hit the road without an empty stomach and with energy." He looked at me and nodded. "Okay."

After skinning the rabbit and cooking it, we sat down in silence as we chomped on the meat. After several moments of silence, Daryl asks, "So, what'd they do to you? When you were gone…" I sighed before answering. "They tried to make me turn. They trapped me in a barn and let a walker try to bite me. I killed it, though. Then, I waited. I waited until the man came and I strangled him. I ran after that."

I looked up at Daryl. His jaw was set and he was tense. He had a harsh scowl on his face and his hands were clenched. "So, the man is dead?" I nod. "There was another person with him. A woman. She's probably still alive. And they were talking about using me to get to someone. I never figured out who they were talking about. I got out before I could." "Good," he says. His voice is strained. His chin drops down to his chest.

I drop the rabbit and walk over to him, sitting on my knees and I put my hand on his elbow. "Hey. I'm okay. It's over. I'm with you now. And, I ain't leavin'." I tell him. He nods and stands up. I stand up with him and we pack our stuff, getting ready to leave my temporary home. This place kept me safe whenever I was all alone. I would be lying if I said I wasn't going to miss it.

As we're walking, I ask Daryl a question. "Did you know those guys? The guys that attacked us?" I ask him. I was curious what he was doing with them, or how he found them. "They found me in the middle of the road." "Why were you in the middle of the road?" I reply. Daryl isn't stupid enough to just sit there like that.

"I chased the car that took you and tracked it as far as I could go. I came at a crossroads at one point and collapsed. "Oh," is all I say. It's all that I can say. "Yeah." Our hands brush and I intertwined my fingers with his, just like at the graveyard. Both times were for sympathy.

We keep walking in silence until we come up to a red train car. On the side is a sign. I sign that makes my heart flutter in my chest at the sight. It gives me hope. It reads: _Community for all, sanctuary for all. Those who arrive survive. Terminus. _Below all of the writing is a map with several locations all pointing to one spot in the middle, It must be Terminus.

I turn to Daryl to look at him. He's narrowing his eyes and analyzing the board, as if he can see through it and tell what this place really is. If it really is a sanctuary, we'll have a new home. If it's not… I really don't want to think about that. But, we have to try.

I look at Daryl again. "We have to go," I tell him. "Maggie, Glenn… the others would have gone here. We have to go!" I grab his vest collar to look him in the eye. He looks back at me. "Daryl, we need to go someplace." He hesitates, then nods. "Okay." I pull back. "We'll go."


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Daryl

Daryl was surprised when they came up to a cabin the middle of the woods. They had taken a break from traveling to hunt for food, and came across a small, wooden house. Immediately, they banged on the door to see if anyone, or anything, was inside. When they saw nothing, they entered the unlocked cabin.

As soon as Beth and Daryl stepped across the threshold of the house, they raised their crossbows. They separated as Daryl went upstairs and Beth stayed on the ground floor. He crept slowly up the stairs, being careful for any creaking steps.

When he got upstairs, he swung open the first door and nothing was inside. He quickly moved onto the other one, kicking the door open. When he got to the last one, he stayed frozen in the doorway. He hesitantly stepped inside of a girl's room.

The walls were painted pink and there was a canopy bed in the middle. The room had smooth wooden floors. A white dresser with flowers decorated on it was in the corner. Porcelain dolls sat on the top of it against the wall. A flat screen TV was in the middle right across the bed that was hanging on the wall.

But, on top of the pink paint on the walls was dried blood. Spots of dark red overshadowed the bright pink. Guts were lying on top of the wood next to the bed, and more dried blood was smeared on the curtains surrounding it and on the once beautiful dresser.

What was even worse was what was lying on the bed. A walker was tied down to it, It's insides now showing on the outside. The walker was a girl. A small girl. Daryl felt bile rise up in his throat as the yellow eyes looked at him and the girl snarled viciously. Before he knew it, he heard footsteps on the stairs.

"I found some canned food, but it won't-" Beth abruptly stopped talking as she took in the horrific room and stopped in her tracks next to Daryl. The only thing you could hear was the sounds of the girl snarling at them, and struggling to sit up against the ropes.

Beth gripped Daryl's arm as if it would erase the sight before her. Daryl stood in shock. This was one of the most terrifying moments that he'd ever faced. And he didn't know why. He'd had to kill his dead brother, Merle. He saw Rick shoot Sophia when she stumbled out of the barn, the girl he had been looking for. But this, this was something else.

Beth let out a strangled sob and now gripped Daryl's hand. They both knew that this had happened many times now in this new and screwed up world. This was just horrible. Someone had left this decaying little girl to just rot and suffer, tied up. That was the sickest thing either of them had ever seen.

Daryl squeezed Beth's hand as she kept crying. He let go of her hand softly and picked up his crossbow. He couldn't stand to look at this anymore, and he knew that it was practically breaking Beth even more. She already had a huge crack through her from everything else.

He raised his crossbow to the girl as he stood in front of the bed. He struggled to pull the trigger because every time he tried, he kept seeing this room. He imagined what the girl might have been like before she turned.

Then, finally, he turned his head, squeezed his eyes shut, and fired straight at the walker's forehead. Beth sobbed even louder from the doorway of the room as he turned back to her and grabbed her hand again, leading her back downstairs.

Beth had finally calmed down after dark. Daryl had been by her side all day, comforting her as best as he could, though she knew he was awkward with it. She still appreciated the company and that he tried.

After a while, they sat in silence eating the peaches Beth had found. They passed the can back and forth as they sat in front of the fireplace. "Who would do that?" Beth spoke. Her voice was hoarse and her eyes had red rims under them. Daryl glanced at her and he hesitated before answering. "I don't know, Beth. I really don't."

Beth shook her head and scoffed. "Sorry about that, by the way. I guess I'm not as tough as I thought I was. I didn't really expect to crack anymore. I thought that stage was over." Daryl couldn't believe what he was hearing as Beth turned sat the empty can down next to her. "That's not true." Daryl argued.

She snorted. "Yeah, right. At least I'm better than I was at daddy's farm. I'm not as stupid and immature as then." Daryl grabbed Beth's chin and forced her to look at him. "You _are _tough. You're strong. You're what made me believe that good people are still in this world." Beth smiled at him and opened her mouth to say something, but was interrupted by a blood-curling scream coming from on the other side of the door.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter11

Beth

They both frantically looked around. Daryl snuck over to the curtain and peered out the window. Everything was silent and Beth stood in curiosity. "Who was that?" He saw a woman being torn to shreds in the middle of the woods. Beth looked outside, too. She wanted to run. A walker's head perked up and locked its dead eyes with hers, standing and stumbling over towards the window.

Beth cursed as she grabbed her crossbow off of the couch and grabbed her new backpack that she had found downstairs. Luckily, it was full of canned food and water so they could just get up and go if they needed to.

After Daryl had gathered his stuff, the walkers were pounding on the door. They had apparently finished their food and were still hungry. Beth turned to Daryl. "Is there a back door?" She asked him. He shrugged. "I didn't see one." There was more pounding. Some of the walkers had gone over to the window and the glass was close to breaking.

"There's a window in the back bedroom. We can leave from there." Another crack was heard in the window, and Daryl didn't have any time to argue, if he'd wanted to. Beth led him into the bedroom and proceeded to unlock the window. Once it was open, she swung her leg over with Daryl following close behind.

As soon as they stepped outside, they heard the quiet thunder. A storm was coming on soon. Beth looked back to make sure Daryl had gotten out, then they ran side-by-side into the woods. They clutched their crossbows in their hands as they weaved around the trees.

Soon after running through the night, rain started pouring down on them. The forest seemed like it was never going to end. Beth was shivering and she wanted to stop. Her eyes were squinted through the storm and the only light to let them see their way was the lightning that occasionally flashed across the sky.

Beth kept focusing on Daryl's labored breathing as her socks squished up against her shoes. She coughed, feeling like she was in the arctic. Finally, they came to a clearing after running for what felt like miles. Thunder boomed around them and Beth collapsed onto the ground on her knees as soon as they came to a stop.

She panted as she held herself up on her hands on knees. Daryl was right next to her and also catching his breath. "Beth, we gotta go," he said to her. She coughed out her response. "I can't, Daryl." Her ankle was starting to ache again, just when she thought it was completely better.

Daryl felt panicked. He needed to keep her safe. He looked up through the rain and saw more trees past the open space they were in. He knew he just had to take his chances. If he could carry Carol, he could carry Beth.

Daryl bent down and grunted. He and gently lifted her so that her face was into his shoulder and her arms were wrapped around his neck. Then he took off in a run while cradling Beth in his arm. Beth didn't know how he could handle this. Sure, she was skinny and small, but it was pouring down rain and it was nighttime. And he was carrying her through the forest.

Beth felt as if she could pass out from exhaustion anytime now. But if Daryl couldn't carry her anymore, she would have to start running again. Though, she didn't stop her eyelids from drooping shut.

Daryl carried her until he couldn't stop anymore, and the rain got lighter and the thunder wasn't as loud. They reached another clearing and he finally sat her down on the ground. Beth opened her eyes slowly as Daryl caught his breath again and fell to the ground in exhaustion.

When Beth looked up though, she saw something unbelievable. She gasped and felt as if she was going to be sick. Or cry. She was shocked, one way or another. Because right in front of Daryl and her was a place she'd never thought she'd see again.

**A/N: Please don't hate me! I know, it's been two days since I've updated, but I haven't been able to get this chapter done. I've had writer's block for this story! Also, would you prefer daily updates, or every other day updates with more details and longer chapters? Please let me know in the reviews, PM me, favorite and follow this story because that would be AMAZING! I love all mah readers and their feedback so feel free to tell me what you think of it anytime. Check out my story Stuck, too! Thx! :)**


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Daryl

When Daryl heard Beth gasp, his head whipped up from looking at the grass. He was panting heavily. He thought it was something like walkers or another group of people, but there weren't any people and there were only a couple walkers scattered across the field.

Right in front of Daryl and Beth was the Greene farm. Daryl slowly stood up next to Beth and placed his hand on her shoulder. The rain was starting to get worse and the thunder sounded closer.

"We need to go inside!" Daryl yelled through the thunder and rain. Beth was staring blankly ahead at the farm, shocked. She nodded hesitantly, still looking ahead. She remembered the farm exactly how she left it. The barn burned down, thousands of walkers everywhere, invading.

It seemed calm now. The barn was nothing but a few pieces of wood and ashes, and there were only one or two walkers. Beth and Daryl took them out together before running up to the porch steps to go inside their old safe place.

As they entered the unlocked house, Beth felt a ball in her throat as she lifted her crossbow to scan the dark family home. It was dark and quiet. In her head, she kept replaying the scene of the governor brutally murdering and chopping her father's head off.

She let out a quiet sob as she thought of where Maggie might be. She could be alive or dead, but she wasn't here. Beth didn't know if any other Greene besides her was alive. Daryl quietly came up behind her as she dropped her crossbow onto the rug beside her and brought her hands up to her face, wiping the tears off of her face.

He wanted to comfort her, but he wasn't sure what he would do. So he settled for just walking up to her and placing a hand on her elbow. She sniffed and turned around to face him. He looked at her tear-stained face and felt sympathy for her. He knew that his family was dead- she didn't know if Hershel was suffering as a walker or completely dead. Same for Maggie.

When neither of them said anything, Beth walked upstairs to her old room. It was still dark inside, but she knew where a lantern was. She walked over to her nightstand, the place memorized, and flipped on the battery powered switch. It illuminated the room.

Beth slowly walked towards the closet. The only thing that could be heard was the thunder outside and the creaking of the wooden planks under her feet. She was sick of her yellow polo and jeans, so she was getting a spare change of clothes.

She pulled out a black tank top, a blue top, and denim skinny jeans. After pulling those on, she went back downstairs where Daryl was building a fire in the fireplace. He looked at her as she walked down in clean clothes.

Beth pointed down the hall for him. "Some of daddy's old clothes are in his room back there." She didn't want to have to go in there. She also avoided Maggie's room. Daryl stood and made his way down the hall to Hershel's room.

He also didn't want to see it. He didn't want to remember that he could've helped. That maybe if he would've found the governor and killed him instead of giving up, their fate may be different.

Beth wrapped her arms around herself and sat down on the couch in front of the fire. It didn't stop her shivering. She gently lied on her side against the cushion until she floated into a deep sleep, not knowing that a walker they hadn't found was slowly creeping up behind her, ready to kill.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

The walker's feet shuffled across the room to where it smelled the flesh. When it snarled, it didn't phase Beth. She was sound asleep with no intention of waking up anytime soon. Daryl exited Hershel's old bedroom. He couldn't take it in there. He felt the need to leave.

"Beth?" he called out, walking into the living room. The walker's teeth were so close to Beth's ear, that he didn't have time to do anything before it almost chopped down on her right cheek. Beth gasped and jumped up, sitting on the couch. As soon as she figured out what was going on, Daryl had already stuck a knife into its brain.

It fell onto the ground next to Daryl's feet. The only audible thing in the room was the heavy breathing of the two as they looked at each other in disbelief. "What happened?" Sweat covered Beth's forehead and temples from the nightmare she'd had. She was so used to them that she stopped caring.

"You were asleep, and I guess we missed a walker." "Well, obviously!" Beth yelled. Her shaky hand swiped back her bangs that stuck to her face as she sighed. "What are ya' yelling at me for?" Daryl almost demanded. Beth wanted to say because all of her family was dead. That she was back in the same house she tried to kill herself in. But he had gone through close to what she had. "I'm sorry," she said. And she meant it.

Beth was frightened. She was scared out of her wits, as her father would say. She didn't want to live in this world anymore. She wanted it back to the way it was, with Maggie and Hershel and her mother and Shawn… but she knew that was impossible. And she wouldn't give up this time. She would live.

When Daryl woke up the next morning, his arm was wrapped around a small figure. The two had stayed up and watched the fire burn, then eventually fell asleep, snuggling close together for warmth. Beth was still asleep beside him with a hint of a small smile on her face.

Daryl carefully untangled himself from the small girl and stood up to stretch out his stiff limbs. He squinted out the window at the bright sun. He sighed when he heard birds happily chirping. But there was nothing to be happy about.

The duo was glad about finding a place to stay, but they wish it wasn't this place. They were chased away from this place by the world's enemy. And their friends that used to live here with them are now dead or gone. They really didn't want a reminder of that.

Beth mumbled something in her sleep behind him and he turned around to see her with a frown on her face. Her hands suddenly balled into fists. "No." She said. "Daryl!" She yelled and struggled against invisible restraints.

Daryl kneeled down next to her as a scream ripped from her throat right before a sob. "Beth!" He yelled. He grabbed her wrists which were punching mid-air. Beth's eyes shot open as she belted out an ear-piercing scream. Her head frantically whipped around.

"Beth. Beth!" She panted and her eyes snapped to his. "I'm right here," Daryl told her. She nodded and took deep breaths. "I ain't goin' nowhere." He told her. It was true. He was never planning to leave her as long as he was alive.

"I'm okay." Beth told him. Daryl looked into her eyes to be certain and he doubted her words. "Are you sure?" She forced a smile and nodded. He helped her stand and they ventured into the kitchen to find something to eat, if there was anything left. But, they unfortunately didn't see the man walk right up to the front door to come inside.

**A/N: I know! I know! It took me about a week and a half to update! My co-writer was busy with school, and I was busy with school, but now school's over! Yay! Also, followers of Adjusting... thinking of giving up on that. I'm really just not "feeling it." But, if you REALLY like it, then leave a review saying that you want me to continue or PM me about it. Thx for reading!**


	14. IMPORTANT AN!

**A/N: Hey guys! No, this isn't a new chapter! I just wanted to say something to you guys. I know I haven't updated in almost a month or somewhere near that and I'm SO glad that you guys have still been following and faving! It's awesome! I wanted your opinions on something, though. I'm still going to update every few weeks, but if you guys REALLY REALLY want updates frequently, please tell me in the reviews or PM me about it and I'll try to update once a week or every few days if that's what you would like. But if you guys don't mind, updates are going to be INCREDIBLY slow. Maybe one every 3-4 weeks. Please let me know! It's VERY important! If I get enough requests for frequent updates, I promise I'll try my ABSOLUTE BEST to write a new chapter at least once a week! If I don't get anything from you guys, the updates ARE NOT going to be very common. Thanks for reading this! Also, check out my newish story, Angels and Demons! It's a bunch of Bethyl one-shots! I accept prompts and will write them out and give the person with the idea full credit. If I don't get any requests, the updates will be about as occasional as this story! Anyway, thanks so much for reading this and I actually should have a new chapter of this story up sometime in the next few days! Sorry about the wait! :)**


	15. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

**A knock on the door sounded in the silence. Daryl and Beth exchanged panicked glances before Daryl snatched his crossbow from off the counter. "Stay here." he demanded Beth. Daryl and Beth were glad that they had boarded up the door and locked it tight. **

**Daryl peeked through the space in between the boards and saw a man there. He had his thumbs through his belt loops and looked like he was inspecting the house. He also wore a baseball cap and had a rifle slung over his shoulder, which didn't go unnoticed. **

**Silently, Daryl debated with himself if he should open the door or not. Before he had a choice, the man connected eyes with him and smirked. "Best to open the door now that I know you're here." The man had a southern drawl to his voice. Daryl cursed, then raised his crossbow and opened the door slowly. **

**When he opened the door, the man stood there smiling. "I'm Mark. Nice to meet ya', fella." Daryl's eyebrows furrowed, but he kept his eye looking through the scope on his crossbow. ****He remembered Beth in the kitchen as his finger hovered over the trigger.**

** "****Got a group?" Mark shook his head and kept smiling. "It's just me and my rifle." He sat his hands on his hips and he jerked his chin at Daryl. "Why don't ya' lower yer' weapon, there." Daryl narrowed his eyes. He felt something very off about Mark. He certainly didn't trust him. "Gimme yer' rifle, then. I ain't gonna steal it. Just precautions." Mark kept on smiling, but it started to fade as he reached behind himself to get it off of his back. "Sure."**

**Daryl grabbed the rifle from Mark and lowered his crossbow. Just as he was about to say something, Beth rounded the corner with ****_her _****weapon raised. Daryl sighed inwardly. He'd told her to stay in the kitchen, but she was too stubborn to actually do it. He thought it was one of her best traits, surprisingly.**

**Daryl spoke, still holding eye contact with Mark. "It's alright, Beth." She hesitated, then lowered her crossbow to the side. Mark got a… eerie look in his eye when he'd spotted Beth. "Well, who are you?" Beth opened her mouth to answer, but Daryl beat her to the punch. "She's Beth. 'M Daryl." ****_And I'll also break you until you die if you mess with either of us, _****Daryl added in his head.**

** "****Nice to meet y'all." Daryl grunted in response. Mark looked at Beth again. She felt incredibly self-conscious under his gaze and stood tall, jutting her chin out. She clutched her crossbow in her hand, sending a message to the creepy man that she wasn't interested in any bull crap that he would try to pull.**

** "****Are you just passing through?" Daryl asked him, shifting to his right. He felt protective of Beth, and he really didn't want him looking at her the way that he had been. Mark glanced back at Daryl. "Yeah. Think so. I haven't really seen any place to stop, except for this place…" Daryl stiffened and it didn't go unnoticed by Mark. "… But I can see that it's already full."**

**Nobody spoke up after that. Mark examined the house about, craning his neck to look around. When he was done… inspecting, it seemed, he turned back to the two. Beth had walked up next to Daryl. "Y'all mind if I sit down 'awhile?" Beth narrowed her eyes at him, but he didn't seem to notice. "Sure." She spoke slowly as if she wanted to take back what she said. She actually did.**

**An awkward silence filled the air as they all sat down. "Do you folks have a group?" Mark broke the silence. "Yep," Beth said. "We've got about five other people. There in town right now and will be back soon." Translation: You're not welcome here. He didn't seem to get the message. "They left your pretty little self here?" **

**Daryl abruptly sat up from his seat. Mark also stood. "Lay off, man." Mark complained. "Leave." Daryl growled in his face. They were nose-to-nose now. Beth grabbed Mark's rifle off of the chair and handed it to him, agreeing with Daryl. Mark glanced back at the two and opened his mouth to say something, but Beth slammed the door in his face before he could get out word. She held her breath until the heavy footsteps stalked off of the wooden porch.**

**Daryl pulled aside the curtain and watched the man walk away until he was out of sight, but he still had a bad feeling in his gut about Mark. And he needed to keep Beth extra close to him.**

**A/N: Yay! An update! After, like, a freaking month! I'm SO SO SORRY about the wait! I've just been very, very busy with my original stories and I'm currently going through something really cool (and secret) and my brain is about to explode! Anyway, thanks so much for taking the time to tell me that you guys wanted weekly updates! I'm going to update every weekend starting NEXT weekend. Thank you guys so much for staying with this story and not un-following it and... you guys just amaze me! Thank you all so much for all of your support and for being patient! You guys are amazing! You plant a smile on my face every time I see a new review or favorite or follow! I am so grateful for such awesome followers and favoriters like you guys! THANKS FOR READING! :)**


	16. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

"I think we should leave. Now." Daryl spoke up. Beth looked over at him as he continued speaking. "That Mark guy knows where we're staying. It's not safe at all." The fire crackled in front of Beth that put a glow on her face. Daryl had a hard time focusing on his next words. "I'm gonna go get our stuff."

Daryl stood from off of the couch and headed into the dark bedroom. It was already night. Beth got up and followed him. "Daryl, we'll take turns on watch. If we see the slightest bit of a shadow, we'll pack up and leave."

Beth didn't want to admit it, but she didn't want to leave. She wanted to stay locked up in the house forever, but she knew that she couldn't. They would have to move on to Terminus.

It had been lingering in the back of their minds as they remembered the farm that had once been their safe haven. But Beth still wanted to stay there as long as possible.

Daryl turned around to look at Beth. She was pleading him with her desperate eyes. "We leave at dawn. No later." His voice was firm, which meant no screwing around. Beth nodded. "Got it." She thought about adding a little "Mr. Dixon" in it, but he turned away and passed her before she could say anything.

That night, Beth took watch first. Daryl told her that she had to wake him up at midnight, so Beth would have to estimate the time. The clock on the mantel had stopped working months after the apocalypse started.

Daryl lied across the old couch as Beth ventured into the kitchen, looking out the window over the sink that viewed the whole farm. She sighed when the saw the remnants of the barn piled up on the ground. That was the barn that held walkers. The barn that a man was almost killed in.

She turned away from the window and sat at the table with her crossbow in front of her. It had been dark for a few hours now and Beth bit down a yawn. Sure, she was tired, but she didn't want to fall asleep when it was her responsibility to stay awake and keep watch.

She still laid her head down on her folded arms on the table, forcing her eyes open and staying alert.

Beth couldn't help it when she started to drift in and out of consciousness and after a while, she finally fell asleep, oblivious to the fact that danger was literally right around the corner.

When Daryl woke, it was morning. He felt like he had gotten the best sleep in days, then he remembered that Beth should have woken him. He shot up from the couch and grabbed his crossbow then ran in the kitchen.

"Beth!" he called. The noise rang throughout the whole house, making Daryl panicked. He yelled her name louder, but the only sound that followed was the chirping of birds outside.

Beth's crossbow was sitting on the table, untouched. He knew that there was no way Beth would have gone out there without it. And she definitely would've told Daryl. He let out more crude words as he realized what was happening. Beth was gone. And he had no way of finding her.

A/N: Sorry about the late and short update! Should be posting Dead or Surviving and Stuck soon. THANKS FOR READING!


End file.
